Shirley Henderson

Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her film roles as Gail in Trainspotting (1996), Jude in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Her other films include Topsy-Turvy (1999), Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Frozen (2005), Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (2008) and Anna Karenina (2012). On television from 1995-1997, she starred opposite Robert Carlyle in the BBC series Hamish Macbeth. In 2014, she received a BAFTA TV Award nomination for the Channel 4 miniseries Southcliffe (2013). She has also featured most recently as Frances Drummond in the BBC drama Happy Valley (2016).

Early life

Henderson was born in Forres, Moray, but grew up in Kincardine, Fife.^[1][2] As a child, she began singing in local clubs, at charity events, holiday camps and even a boxing contest.^[1][3] Having joined an after-school drama club,^[4] Henderson attended Fife College at the age of 16, where she completed a one-year course resulting in a National Certificate in Theatre Arts.^[5] She moved to London at 17 where she spent three years at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1986.^[6][7]

Career

Henderson got her first big break when Leonard White cast her as the lead in the children's television drama Shadow of the Stone on ITV. After this, she spent the majority of her twenties concentrating on performing a wide variety of roles in the theatre. Early 1990 saw her return to television screens when she appeared in the third series of the wartime drama series Wish Me Luck and in Clarissa (1991). More stage work followed before she landed the key role of Isobel in the popular BBC series Hamish Macbeth in 1995.

Henderson then moved into films, playing Morag in Rob Roy (1995) and Spud's girlfriend Gail in Danny Boyle's Trainspotting (1996). She continued her work in the theatre, including many productions at the National Theatre in London. 1999 saw critically acclaimed performances in Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy — which also provided an opportunity for her to show off her singing skills – and Michael Winterbottom's Wonderland.

She played Jude in both Bridget Jones films and Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). She was the oldest actress to portray a child's character in the films. She co-starred in the British film "Close Your Eyes" (2002) along with Goran Višnjić and Miranda Otto and also played French princess Sophie-Philippine in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette (2006).

Henderson pictured in 2009

She played the school matron in Nick Moore's 2008 film Wild Child.^[8]

Small-screen appearances have included playing Marie Melmotte in The Way We Live Now (2001); Catherine of Braganza in Charles II: The Power and The Passion (2003); Charlotte in Dirty Filthy Love (2004); Ursula Blake in the Doctor Who episode "Love & Monsters" (2006); Emmeline Fox in The Crimson Petal and the White (2011); DS Angela Young in Death in Paradise (2011); and Meg Hawkins in Treasure Island (2012). She played Karen, the lead role, opposite John Simm in Channel 4's Everyday and Meme Kartosov in Anna Karenina.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

• Anna Weiss … Lynn; Whitehall Theatre, London; 22 November – 18 December 1999 (author: Mike Cullen, director Michael Attenborough)^[11]
• Shining Souls … Mandy; Old Vic, London; 9 November – 1 December 1997 (director: Chris Hannan)^[12]
• The Maiden Stone … Mary; Hampstead Theatre, London; 1999 (director: Matthew Lloyd)
• The House of Bernarda Alba … Stuart Davids; The Tramway, Glasgow; 10–20 September 1997 (author: Federico García Lorca; director: Stuart Davids)^[13][14]
• Shining Souls … Mandy; 1997
• The Life of Stuff … Evelyn, Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh; 1996 (director: John Mitchell)
• The Mill on the Floss … Maggie Tulliver; Tricycle Theatre Shared Experience; 1994 (author: George Eliot, director: Nancy Meckler)
• Romeo and Juliet … Juliet; Citizens Theatre, Glasgow; 1993 (author: William Shakespeare, director: Giles Havergal)
• Lions in the Street … Isobel; Hampstead Theatre, London; 1993 (author: Paul Hoffman, director: Matthew Lloyd)
• Eurydice … Eurydice; Festival Theatre, Chichester; 1993 (director: Michael Rudman)
• My Mother Said I Never Should … Rosie; Royal Court Theatre, London; 1989 (author: Charlotte Keatley, director: Michael Attenborough)
• The Winter's Tale … Perdita; Royal National Theatre, London; 1988 (author: William Shakespeare, director: Peter Hall)^[15]
• The Tempest … Miranda; Royal National Theatre, London; 1988 (author: William Shakespeare, director: Peter Hall)
• Entertaining Strangers … Fanny; 1987

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shirley Henderson.

• Shirley Henderson at the Internet Movie Database
• Shirley Henderson at Hamilton Hodell Talent Management